Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	church_n	truth_n	4,834	5	5.5664	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26975	Of national churches their description, institution, use, preservation, danger, maladies and cure, partly applied to England / written by Richard Baxter for promoting peace ... and for the fuller explication of the Treaty for Concord in 1660 and 1661, and of the Kings gracious declaration about ecclesiastical affairs ... and for further explication of his treatise of episcopacy ...	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1691 (1691)	Wing B1329; ESTC R13726	59,031	82

Laws about Religion and the Church affairs should not be made without the advice of them who are so greatly intrusted with Religion And yet that their Riches should be such as may not be too strong a Temptation to Sensuality Worldliness Pride and Tyrannizing over their Brethren § 27. There are three ranks of Bishops Two if not all three of Divine Institution And when any one of the three would suppress the other two they are corrupted into a sinful Tyranny I. The ordinary Presbyters are Episcopi Gregis Bishops over the Flocks So called and proved not only by Grotius passim but by most Papists and Protestants specially expositors on Phil. 1. and 1 Tim. 3. and 1 Pet. 5. c. II. The Churches being first gathered usually under some one Pastor and he taking in the ripest of his Converts or Disciples to become his assisting Presbyters and to avoid divisions that one or some other was chosen to be Episcopus Praeses the President Bishop of that particular Congregate Church As the incumbents in big Parishes are with us And tho I can prove no Institution of this but by Gods General Commands of doing all in Order Unity and to Edification yet we have reason to believe that it was begun in the Apostles days if Jerom say true about Mark at Alexandria who died before John And I find no party of Christians against it of many hundred years perhaps not of a thousand for even Aerius called it not unlawful And the Novatians Donatists and other Sects were Zealous for this sort of Episcopacy III. And that a Superior sort of Successors to the Apostles and Evangelists were of Divine Institution I have proved before § 28. The appropriating the name of BISHOPS to this General rank here called the Diocesanes contrary to Scripture and Truth hath proved a mischievous snare for Deceit and Tyranny For hereby first our Innovators have denied the Parish Incumbents to be true Pastors secondly And the Parish Churches to be true Political Churches for want of proper Bishops or Pastors but only parts of the Diocesan Church As if that were infimae specei 3. By this they have made the ignorant Laity believe that those ordained by the Proestotes the parochial President Bishops are ordained by no Bishops at all and so must be re-ordained And 4. they are become the grand Enemies of Episcopacy putting down many hundred Bishops to set up one alone And yet perfrictâ fronte have called such as are for more Antiepiscopal and themselves the Episcopal party Just as if one Schoolmaster or Physition should put down many hundred that he may be the only Schoolmaster and Physition or one Judge put down all the Justices and Mayors and then impudently say that they are against Physitions Schoolmasters and Justices and he only is for them But who can expect Truth or Modesty from Ungodly Worldly Proud Tyrannical Men. Tho it is not the Name that is our Controversie I allow them the Name of Diocesanes Yet abuse of Names hath been of mischievous effects § 29. Such Diocesane or General Bishops as put down all the Particular fixed Bishops and Churches are not only no sort of Bishops of Christs Institution but are Pernicious Enemies to Episcopacy and the Churches As nominal Apostles would have been had they put down all the Particular Churches and Bishops which they should oversee or a General Commander that would put down all the Collonels and Captains § 30. To refuse to be ordained by such usurping Enemies and to disown them is not to refuse true Episcopacy § 31. If these usurping Bishops would swear Men to obey them and refuse to ordain any that will not Assent Consent Subscribe or Covenant to sin against God by Omission or Commission especially many great and hainous sins he that refuseth such ordination may truly say he could not be so ordained the Bishop was the refuser and not he And he hath better ordination that is ordained by Parish Bishops on lawful Terms § 32. Yet if the Christian Prince make a true Diocesan that putteth not down the Parish Churches to be of the Quorums and have a Negative voice in Ordinations of such as he will own and maintain I think none should scruple submission For while Diocesans are good Men it seemeth to be a way safe and orderly § 33. There are two degrees of deposing the Parish Pastors I. When somewhat essential to their Office it self is denied de specie As Mr. Dodwell would have the Office made and specified by the Will and Intention of the Ordainer This only the Innovaters are guilty of II. When the Essentials of the Office are owned but the exercise sinfully restrained This the Old English Canons and Bishops were guilty of But it unhappily was by fitting their Canons to the State of the Parish Priests that came newly out of Popery and were by ignorance and errour unfit for their Office and Work But of all this I treated with unquestionable evidence of Truth in my Treatise of Episcopacy which is yet unanswered § 34. Those that only abusively restrain the Parish Pastors in the exercise of their Offices and are but misgoverning Diocesans may yet be owned as true Ministers de specie tho we must not own their sinful Misgovernment But those that destroy the very Office of the Parish Pastors in any essential part and their Churches are no true Ministers of Christ de specie nor to be owned as such while they will be the sole Pastors of many hundred Congregations § 35. How came this General Episcopacy that was to gather and fix Churches to be so much ceased A. 1. By the difficulty and costliness of the work of Apostolick Travels and Labours Ministers chose the easier state of a fixed particular Ministry 2. The particular Bishops living among Heathens found work enough on those within their reach and so by degrees conjoined the two Offices of General and Particular Episcopacy into one 3. And when the Heathen near them were converted ambition drew them to enlarge their Particular Churches into one Diocesan Church instead of gathering the new Swarms into a new Hive under a true particular Bishop And thus Satan hath by subtilty reduced the Churches to be too like to the Heathen World by killing Religion and turning it into Hypocritical Ceremony and meer Names while one Bishop will needs undertake the work of many Score or Hundreds which he cannot possibly perform § 36. Q. How prove you that the Largeness of the Diocess altereth the Species of Episcopacy and Churches A. It doth not at all if it put not down the subordinate Parish Pastors and Churches But if it turn them into half-Pastors and Chappels by destroying their essence it is easily proved Because it is two sorts of Communion that specifie the two sorts of Churches and Pastors The lowest particular sort is for presential personal Communion of such as may personally converse and may know each other and may at least sometime assemble